Attorney General's Office

Alabama has adopted a new combination of drugs for executions and is once again seeking to put inmates to death.

The attorney general's office is asking the Alabama Supreme Court to set execution dates for nine death row inmates. Lawyers said the Department of Corrections this week adopted a new three-drug protocol for executions.

Executions in Alabama had come to a halt after Alabama and other states ran out of a key drug used in executions.

A section of the downtown Montgomery office building that houses the Alabama Attorney General's office was evacuated and the adjacent street closed after an employee opening an envelope found a suspicious white powder.

Capt. Mark Williams of the Montgomery Fire and Rescue Department said there were no injuries reported Wednesday morning. Williams said U.S. Postal Service inspectors conducted a preliminary inspection of the powder and determined it was non-toxic.